


No Fate

by shadowolfhunter



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fallen Angels, Love, M/M, Permanent Injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-17 20:25:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14197065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowolfhunter/pseuds/shadowolfhunter
Summary: Lucifer's retreated, Cain's won, all the fallen archangel (Devil, thank you very much) can do is implore Chloe to be careful. All Lucifer can do now is blame himself, he's shoved Chloe away so often, and in so many different ways he's destroyed what they had. And all of this without the actual revelation of who he is.But Cain is destabilising, he's so desperate, he's been trying to die since the Bronze Age and nothing is working. Chloe's his last chance, so maybe removing everything from Chloe's life, she will concentrate on him, and he can get what he wants...





	1. Marcus loses it

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Antarctic_Echoes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctic_Echoes/gifts), [Navaros](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navaros/gifts), [ScilesMcCallinski](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScilesMcCallinski/gifts).



> This is a sliding doors kind of story, where paths chosen and moments taken can have an effect. Lucifer suffers through all of them, because he is the King of beating himself up, and because he needs the moments of realisation to actually act on.
> 
> Free will has always been there, and maybe some other people need to realise that too.

There is no time, and Lucifer is definitely out of options. From the moment he realised exactly who ‘Marcus Pierce’ was, the dark in Lucifer’s soul rejoiced, relishing the danger, the opportunity.

But never at the expense of those who Lucifer loved.

Never for the Detective’s little spawn staring up at him with such terror and hope in her eyes. Like Lucifer was her salvation.

He swallows hard. Clamping down on the rage that courses through him, because there is no time for rage, the smallest miscalculation will be deadly, and Lucifer will not risk the child.

There is an irony here, a detached part of his mind supposes, that Beatrice Espinoza was the one being who offered him unconditional love, and friendship, and that never changed.

“Cain.” he tried to keep his tone even, balanced, because they were on a knife edge here.

“Lucifer” Cain’s nonchalance was a cover, Lucifer could hear that pitch in his tone. The crazy one. He’s smirking as though he’s suddenly got all the answers, and the slight quiver in his gun hand confirms this. Lucifer holds Trixie’s gaze, he’s got no idea what his eyes are actually saying, the situation’s too tense for that, but he can see resolve beginning to harden in her eyes, and that’s good enough for him. Beatrice is strong. Stronger than any ten-year-old he’s ever known (not that he’s known many ten-year-olds but…)

But Cain’s still talking, “it’s all going to work out perfectly, I remove all the obstacles between me and Chloe, her crazy, out-of-control partner snaps and kills her daughter, and poor grief-stricken Chloe falls into my arms, her true comforter and I will finally be free…”

Lucifer could argue that the sins committed could only redouble Cain’s sentence, but he’s got one shot at this. Cain knows about the wings, but he’s never seen them, so Lucifer has surprise, and a weapon on his side.

Cain’s raising his gun. Lucifer lunges forward, as Trixie lashes backwards with her heel, smacking into Cain’s ankle, she wearing hi-top sneakers, hardly going to do damage, but it’s enough to startle Cain, whose grasp loosens.

Lucifer’s wings explode onto this plane of existence, he’s moving fast, faster than a human would be capable of, his right arm and wing curl around Beatrice and snatch her away, Cain stumbles back, and there’s the loud crack of a shot, as the elevator dings its arrival.

Something hot and sharp streaks into Lucifer’s body. He stumbles and pitches forward, glances down at the child in his arms as he falls. Right arm and wing still shielding Beatrice, who clings to him fiercely, fear is back in her eyes, but it’s fear for the Devil, not fear of her world that has completely changed.

Somewhere above Lucifer’s head, the sound of three more shots, a body falls, then Dan comes into Lucifer’s field of vision.

“Lucifer.” Dan’s voice is soft, gentle, it holds no fear at all, and Lucifer is struggling to compute that. He’s the Devil. But Dan’s hand takes Lucifer’s left hand in his, and the look in Detective Espinoza’s eyes is one of gratitude. “You saved her.”

Lucifer is hurting, there’s a pain in his back, and a weird, detached feeling, his legs are numb, he shoves that away, the danger is far from over. He grits his teeth. “Detective.” Lucifer chokes a little, the pain is stealing his breath, “take your spawn and… run.”

Dan shakes his head, “no, I can’t leave you.” He squeezes Lucifer’s shaking fingers, “Chloe’s on her way, and we’ll get you help.” He casts a glance at the wings, “somehow,” is barely a whisper on his breath, but Lucifer summons his strength, ignores the pain and squeezes back. “You don’t understand…” Dan grunts, and Lucifer eases his supernatural grip, “He’s…”

“Daniel.” Cain’s voice… “Couldn’t be better!”

Lucifer’s left wing flops clumsily forward, covering Dan, shielding him. Dan’s gun hand comes up, six shots, straight and true, three into Marcus Pierce’s chest, three into his head, as he drops a second time.

Lucifer has wings. Marcus Pierce just got up after being shot three times. Dan figures he should be freaking out at this, but his ex-wife’s infuriating partner, and Dan’s personal frenemy just saved their daughter’s life from the man that Dan has never really trusted. That has wormed his way into their lives. He glances over at Trixie, secure in the shelter of Lucifer’s right wing. There’s fear in her eyes, but steely determination too, and this is a moment that he thanks God… er… Lucifer’s dad… that Trixie is her mother’s daughter.

That counts for a lot in Dan’s world. Lucifer is wounded, and a quick glance at the literally fallen archangel’s back tells Dan that this is bad.

Trixie clings to her rescuer, fear is driving her. Not fear of Lucifer, she’s always known who he is, he’s never hurt her, and now he’s hurt, saving her. The huge white feathers are shielding her, but she felt Lucifer’s body jerk when Marcus Pierce fired his gun, she can feel the slight shivers from his body, knows they aren’t good shivers. He’s hurt, and she feels as though he’s scared too, which makes her feel he needs her. So she presses her cheek against his shoulder and rubs her hand in little soothing circles on his back, gently.

Despite the pain, Lucifer feels a surge of something within him, love. He had thought it a pesky human emotion, he had wanted his barriers back up, watching the Detective with another man was breaking him in two, but the gentle hands on his failing body are keeping him connected.

The elevator dings a second time, there’s a shocked gasp and the pain in Lucifer’s lower back redoubles. As Lucifer loses consciousness the last thing he hears is Chloe’s terrified voice begging Trixie to let him go.


	2. Chloe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are about as bad as it is possible for them to get... Chloe reflects on a really bad couple of weeks.

So Chloe sits at her desk, trying to avoid Dan’s accusing gaze from his own desk… The fact that he appears to be avoiding her these days a sharp accusation in itself.

What a fucking mess!

Two weeks ago, she stepped off the elevator into Lucifer’s penthouse, sure that this thing was some kind of misunderstanding, though she was definitely going to have words with Marcus about taking Trixie out of school without her knowledge or permission… and she walks into a scene of desperation and chaos, which definitely isn’t what she expected.

That Lucifer never lied to her, hits her hard, that he’s down, she can see the blood spread across his back, but it’s the great white wings shielding Dan, and (she assumes) her daughter that capture her attention.

It’s Dan, weapon drawn, fixed determination on his face as he fires at Marcus, and the certainty, that whatever this situation is, Marcus Pierce is the threat here, that makes her draw her weapon and take aim at her boss/boyfriend.

Then she’s on her knees, next to Lucifer, and just the way he’s breathing, the way he’s moving she knows he’s badly hurt. The corners of her mind think she should be freaking out about all of this, but then Trixie moves, and the spasm of pain that crosses Lucifer’s face, have her begging her child to leave him alone.

In retrospect, she should have known that her not-human guy would take it wrong. He’s down, he’s in pain, the fear in her voice probably just confirmed all his worst fears, but she can’t take it back… and there it is.

Because Lucifer is very badly hurt, they have to bring Ella in to get the bullet, because in house, and divinity and lots of other things that Chloe’s just let go of, because in the very grand scheme of things, none of this matters.

Lucifer’s world has fallen apart.

He wakes up from Ella’s surgery unable to feel his legs.

The sight of her Devil screaming and sobbing in a language that none of them understand, dragging himself brokenly up the bed, to curl in on himself, useless legs still stretched out, then scream at them all to leave him. Well that just breaks Chloe in two.

Because this is largely on her. She’s known since day one that Lucifer was a weirdo. A highly intelligent, uninhibited, weirdo. She has proof now that his weirdness is the direct result of him not being human, which explains Amenadiel and Maze, but those considerations are minor because Lucifer won’t see her. Won’t talk to her.  
To be fair, there are only two people he will talk to. Dan and Trixie. They all left, because even hinting at staying seemed to make him worse, and Lucifer’s well-being was the key here.

He begged Dan to reset the code for the elevator. Dan agreed.

So two weeks have passed, and Chloe’s ex-husband and daughter are now living with the Devil in his penthouse.

Chloe has to admit that she agrees to that. Trixie is safe. Marcus doesn’t know the code, doesn’t even know that there is a code and it’s been reset. He can’t get to Trixie. Right now Chloe has to take that, because they’ve got one hell of a problem.

Marcus Pierce shot Lucifer in the back. An unarmed (Chloe shudders) man. He took her daughter out of school, and as much as Chloe wants to scream at the school again, to be fair, that was totally on her, she had set Marcus up as an approved adult with them. So he’s wounded Lucifer in a way that should definitely have gotten him suspended at the very least, but because of wings, they can’t prove it. They can’t even record the incident. Nine shots discharged from Dan’s weapon, they have to get really creative with that one, and Dan’s verbal report to Marcus in Pierce’s office, well hell…

Even if Lucifer would, how could he bring any charges? Pierce has him over a barrel.

Stalemate.

Now Chloe and Dan are in danger, and this is worse than Malcolm Graham. Graham was very small potatoes next to Cain, immortal and the world’s first murderer. He’s had millenia to practice. Chloe looks back on everything to do with the Sinnerman, because now she knows that Lucifer was always telling the truth, even if there was a truth he refused to show her, and Chloe’s heart breaks for her fallen injured archangel.

She wants to see him. She asks Dan. But no, Lucifer doesn’t change his mind. Phoning him on his cell doesn’t work either, because in a fit of rage, Lucifer threw it through the open window, and the iPhone’s swan dive forty stories to the street smashed it to smithereens… “What’s more than smithereens, Mommy?” Trixie’s innocent question draws a watery chuckle from Chloe at the memory.

She’s not worried, Lucifer would never, ever, hurt her daughter, he’s proved that. The photograph of Trixie, sitting on Lucifer’s bed, playing dominos with the wounded Devil shows the affection between them.

That’s all the news that Chloe’s had, Lucifer still can’t walk, and hasn’t moved outside the penthouse since he woke up.

Chloe shakes herself. None of this solves the issue.

Marcus Pierce is Cain, and now that he hasn’t managed to get exactly what he wants, he represents a danger to both her and Dan, Lucifer and Trixie are safe from his reach, but what about Ella, and Dr Linda… Chloe dismisses the idea of him being able to harm Maze, but what about Amenadiel?

The very awkward conversation that she has with Lucifer’s brother, who seems exasperated with Lucifer (not helping!!), Chloe suspects, although he doesn’t say as much, that Amenadiel is vulnerable to whatever Pierce may now have planned. She knows, although again, she can’t confirm it, that Amenadiel and Pierce have had a knock-down, drag-out fight, that resulted in stalemate. As irritated as she is by Amenadiel, perhaps even more so than she ever was by Lucifer’s antics because Amenadiel has the ability to be both sanctimonious and incredibly pompous, and Lucifer was always able to laugh at himself… sometimes wildly inappropriately, and Chloe has to pull herself together now, because none of these misplaced memories are going to save her or Dan, or protect her fallen archangel from Cain’s nefarious plans.

She buries herself in work, because the pain of the separation between her and her Devil will bury her alive if she lets it.


	3. A Deal's A Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Beatrice Espinoza has a plan. The plan comes off. The results may be a little bit of a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was supposed to be a kind of sliding doors thing where different paths taken lead to different results. But, structurally, that is not how my brain is working it. How it is supposed to work right now, is that conclusions can be drawn from certain actions, and I am planning some follow up stories which take this narrative at certain points throughout and lead it clearly to different endings. (Which sounded better in my head then when I typed it down here, but... hopefully you will get the general drift).
> 
> By the way, the image of Lucifer was inspired by a photo Tom shared from 2013 when he starred in a play by Nicky Silver, The Lyons.

Trixie studied the dominos in front of her. She had him, she knew she did, but she wanted to make doubly sure. A lot was riding on this deal.

She pinned her opponent with a fierce glare.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. And then capitulated. “Yes, spawn. You win.”

“Our deal?” Trixie’s voice held a note of warning. Listening in from the other side of the kitchen island, Dan wondered exactly where his daughter had managed to get the skills she had. Certainly not from his side of the family, and somehow, despite his faith in his ex-wife’s stubbornness, he doubted they came from Chloe’s side either.

“A deal’s a deal.” Lucifer’s chin came up, the way it always did when someone questioned his honour.

“Especially one with the devil.” Trixie chimed in, and Lucifer looked ever so slightly miffed at having his best deal line stolen from him. “We’re going out then. Brunch.” She added.

“So L.A. of me.” Lucifer muttered. He didn’t look particularly happy about it, but then he hadn’t looked particularly happy since the idea had first been floated almost two months ago.

Five months, holing up in Lucifer’s lair (penthouse, detective, penthouse…)(lair… you’re hiding!) was not exactly healthy. Yes, he’d been outside, on the terrace. (On the terrace doesn’t count)(Yes it does, spawn!)(Nope!!)

The sticking point was the wheelchair. The Devil doesn’t do restricted mobility in public. (Yes, he does…)

The first wheelchair had almost gone the way of Lucifer’s iPhone. Only Dan pointing out that someone might be underneath at that very unfortunate moment, stopped the Devil from launching the despised vehicle out of the same window (Supernatural strength… remember).

Dan had always known that Lucifer had an unfeasible amount of money at his disposal. Lux was a wildly successful club, that people practically fought to get into (There was a reason for Lucifer’s huge, strong bouncers, and it certainly wasn’t to play nicey-nice with people causing trouble outside or inside the club), but he had never really grasped the full extent of Lucifer’s bank account, assets and assorted holdings. Even if he stopped everything that day, he would never be able to spend all the money he had (Really? Well I don’t mind giving that a try.)(No, Lucifer, that’s not helpful or healthy. We’re not doing that.) So affording a new car, and a wheelchair which met with Lucifer’s style approval (the four day search through almost every possible permutation had been exhausting, and irritating), not a problem.

After two months, Dan found himself the possessor of a stylish Maserati Quattroporte, (Lucifer!)(Italian, detective, I refuse to be seen in something pedestrian and dull.) He had moved the Corvette to a darker spot in the garage, and covered it with a specialist car cover, but Lucifer still refused to be seen in public.

Dan really didn’t get why, it wasn’t as though Lucifer’s wardrobe choices had changed much, despite the inconveniences of dressing in a three piece suit when standing up without help was pretty much off the cards, Lucifer continued to call the style choices.

Sympathy. It was sympathy that made Lucifer burn, and snap and snarl, and turn away. The Devil was scared of sympathy. (Not scared).(No Lucifer, the flashing eyes’ thing doesn’t convince me.) At that point they had been living together (not in the fun way) for long enough that Dan was okay with the Devil, the wings, the lack of Devil face (stolen), and the Luciferness. He was still Lucifer, just sitting down.

“Right.” Trixie jumped up from the table. “We’re doing this.” She said, firmly.

“Now?” Lucifer pushed himself back from the table, he hadn’t reckoned on the spawn collecting right now, today, so he was unprepared.

“A deal’s a deal.”

Dan sighed, covered the vegetables he had been preparing, and put them back in the refrigerator. Trixie had collected their jackets, Lucifer’s wallet, Dan’s wallet and the car keys. It was like she had planned it.

Dan cast a glance sideways at his daughter. Of course, she had planned it.

She was already skipping ahead and pressing the elevator call button.

 

**##**

The little restaurant was isolated, and several miles up the coast, they were very unlikely to be disturbed or run into anyone they knew, it was also wheelchair friendly, which helped, Lucifer’s anxiety on the way to the garage had been palpable, and the drive had been not as relaxed as Dan would have liked (You’re a horrible driver, Detective). But sat out in the sun, Lucifer had finally started to relax, the food was good, and the change of scenery made everything feel better.

**##**

The text message had come out of the blue, and Chloe should probably have just told Trixie that it wasn’t nice to trick people, but her need to see her partner was overwhelming.

Truth was, she wasn’t doing so terribly well herself. Trixie living with Dan and Lucifer was for the best until they could do something about the threat, she had all the time she wanted with Trixie, whenever she wanted, and they tried to change it up every week, it wouldn’t do to develop a pattern or routine. Lucifer being sufficiently wealthy to afford the finest long distance tutors to keep their daughter safe, Dan resigning from the force (I can’t just sit there and take what he’s dishing out, and do nothing.) She got it, she really did. But someone had to stay, to watch him, and there was Ella to think of, and even Linda, although she apparently had Amenadiel to watch her. Maze was somewhere, probably god knew… and Chloe wasn’t going to go there, but… even if she couldn’t talk to him, she just had to see Lucifer, watch him move, see him live, because at night when she closed her eyes, the dreams that came were cold as ice, Lucifer’s dark brown eyes full of pain, and accusation, (you chose Pierce and he killed me) the triumph in Cain’s cold blue eyes as he killed Lucifer over and over and over again.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

She chose a secluded corner, under the loggia, and shielded from their table by one of the supporting posts which was covered with leaves from the vine above.

Her first sight of the man in the wheelchair stole her breath away.

He was Lucifer still. Even seated in a wheelchair (an expensive-looking designer one...oh Lucifer!) his height was still obvious, the quality of the suit he was wearing undeniable, but… The designer stubble had gone, his beard had grown out, thick and jet black, yet groomed and neatly trimmed, his hair no longer the short-cropped and rather formal (stiff) style he had adopted, but curled, untamed by product, groomed like his beard, but more relaxed. She loved his curls, longed to run her fingers through them, but the sight of Lucifer, and Dan, sitting opposite each other gave her pause.

Lucifer’s hand was on the table, she wasn’t quite close enough to hear exactly what he was saying, but then Dan laid his hand on Lucifer’s and squeezed the Devil’s fingers, and Chloe’s heart stalled and stuttered within her chest.

She had a clear view of both their faces, and the feelings shared in that moment were something she had never seen on Daniel Espinoza’s face, something so profound, yet light, she had never really believed he was capable of.

Chloe turned away, and concentrated on her own food, unwilling to intrude further.


End file.
